Nazareth School Meeting Set On Taking Transfer Tax

October 24, 1985|The Morning Call

The Nazareth Area School Board has called a public meeting for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8 to give "further consideration to local tax collection, and specifically to discuss the real-estate transfer tax," according to a letter sent out yesterday by district Superintendent John Jenkins.

The letter is being sent to the six municipalities that comprise the school district. "Interested residents" also are invited.

Jenkins said the school board does not intend to make a decision on tax issues until after the Nov. 8 meeting.

The board, in a closed session Oct. 14, told district municipalities it was considering taking half the real-estate transfer tax now collected by the municipalities. Representatives from the municipalities - Nazareth, Stockertown and Tatamy, and Upper Nazareth, Lower Nazareth and Bushkill townships - countered with a public meeting of their own Monday night.

The school board, although invited, did not attend because of a scheduled workshop session. Jenkins did call during the meeting to say the board would not consider action on the tax at its next meeting, which will be Monday.

The municipalities voted to attend no closed sessions with the board and to begin legal action to take half of the $10 per-capita tax now collected by the school district. All said the move would be made only "if" the school board initiated action.

Upper Nazareth last night met in special session, directing its solicitor to prepare the necessary papers to take half the per-capita tax, even though Upper Nazareth appears to gain in the tax trade-off, as does Tatamy. Lower Nazareth and Bushkill and Tatamy already have taken such action. Nazareth Borough Council is scheduled to meet tonight to follow a similar course.